MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) Cut to “Sell” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report released on Monday morning.

A number of other brokerages also recently commented on MGPI. Loop Capital set a $75.00 target price on MGP Ingredients in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Truist Financial lowered their price target on MGP Ingredients from $125.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Roth Mkm lowered their price target on MGP Ingredients from $92.00 to $88.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, Lake Street Capital downgraded MGP Ingredients from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $75.00 in a research report on Friday, October 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $88.60.

MGP Ingredients Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of MGPI opened at $57.65 on Monday. MGP Ingredients has a 52 week low of $56.50 and a 52 week high of $102.42. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 6.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The company has a market capitalization of $1.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.31, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 0.59. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $82.52 and its 200-day moving average price is $79.62.

MGP Ingredients (NASDAQ:MGPI) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 1st. The company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.54 by $0.17. MGP Ingredients had a return on equity of 14.98% and a net margin of 12.18%. The firm had revenue of $190.80 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $189.06 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.49 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MGP Ingredients will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

MGP Ingredients Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 16th were given a $0.12 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 16th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. MGP Ingredients’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.09%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Karen Seaberg sold 12,092 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.65, for a total value of $1,096,139.80. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,542 shares in the company, valued at $4,944,232.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 36.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MGP Ingredients

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Champlain Investment Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of MGP Ingredients by 25.4% in the first quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 1,366,906 shares of the company’s stock valued at $117,732,000 after acquiring an additional 276,675 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 0.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,135,093 shares of the company’s stock valued at $97,766,000 after purchasing an additional 8,770 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 9.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 790,339 shares of the company’s stock valued at $58,801,000 after purchasing an additional 68,278 shares during the last quarter. Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of MGP Ingredients by 92.7% in the second quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 515,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $38,375,000 after purchasing an additional 248,076 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of MGP Ingredients in the second quarter valued at approximately $22,028,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.11% of the company’s stock.

MGP Ingredients Company Profile

MGP Ingredients, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and supply of distilled spirits, branded spirits, and food ingredients in the United States and internationally. The company operates through three segments: Distillery Solutions; Branded Spirits; and Ingredient Solutions.